Spring Dream Mini Kiki Ball

This is amiskwacîwâskahikan’s very first function hosted by YEG Ballroom! Come enjoy an electric night of music, dancing and queer history in the making! 

If you are walking the Ball, please purchase a "Walkers" ticket.

If you are coming to watch, please purchase a "Spectators" ticket. 

This event would not be possible without the support of Fruit Loop Society of Alberta and Edmonton Arts Council, thank you! 

Want more information? Contact us at yegballroom@gmail.com or @yegballroom on Instagram.

If the cost of the event is a barrier, please email yegballroom@gmail.com for alternative options. 

 

DJ: Pioneering Legend DJ Blackcat Mulan

Commentator: Iconic Founding Father Twysted Siriano

Judges:

Up and Coming Legend Mother Posh Gvasalia

Legendary Father Senbo Old Navy

Legendary Tamar Telfar

 

Venue: Freemasons Hall Of Edmonton 10318 100 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0A2

 

Doors @ 6:00

Event Starts @ 7:00 

LSS @7:15pm

Ball wraps@10:30

Doors close @12:00 

 

Categories 

Best Dressed - $$

This is a fashion category. Must be BEST dressed from head to toe, the most expensive and exclusive in the room, in season and for the occasion! Female figures don’t forget your purse. Male figures don’t forget your shades, jacket/blazer/overcoat. Gender non-conforming friends must include both purse and shades. There is NO dancing here.

 

Virgin Runway - $$

This category is for virgins, folks who have never walked or won yet. Bring it in a fashionable look that includes pretty pastel colours. Let your legs do the walking, and the feet do the talking. There is NO dancing here as well. 

 

Virgin Performance - $50  Category Sponsored by Legendary Mother Maldita Siriano

 

This category is for virgins, folks who have never walked or won yet. 5 elements of vogue - Hands, catwalk, duckwalk, floor performance and spins and dips! Show the judges you have them all! Come in an effect that includes pretty pastels and dip on the crash.

 

INTERMISSION —------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

OTA Hands Performance - $$

Hand performance is an element of vogue fem but it also is a stand out category of its own! Tell us a story and catch the beats with your hands using waves, taps, figure 8’s, lines and musicality. Spring is all about gardening, show us your green thumbs and bring it in a pair of green gloves or gardening gloves. 

OTA Face - $100

Oshun, Flora, Ostara, Hora and Persephone. Tap into your inner face deity and pull inspiration from these spring gods and goddesses. Looks are giving ethereal, delicate and surreal. 

This is a vanity category. Show the judges how you sell face and its elements - the eyes, nose, skin, teeth and structure.

 

OTA Runway with a prop - $100

April Showers bring May Flowers! It’s raining outside, but that doesn't stop you from serving a sickening look. Bring it in your most fashionable rainwear and you must have an umbrella as the prop.

 

OTA Performance - $100

Spring has now sprung! Incorporate flowers into your effect. 

What is Ballroom?

 

Ballroom is an underground queer subculture where people "walk" (compete), perform, model, dance and lip-sync in a diverse range of categories. These categories play with societal constructs related to gender, occupations, and social classes – allowing for their subversion and reimagining.  The Ballroom scene provides a sanctuary from the constraints of reality and a space for diverse queer folks to celebrate their beauty. 

 

Never been to a Ball? Check out CBX: Ballroom Etiquette with Ballroom legend Twysted Miyake-Mugler and Cuarta Baby! 

 

History 

Ballroom represents a vibrant underground queer subculture with its roots in New York City, primarily among African-American and Latino communities. 

Emerging in the latter part of the 20th century, Black and Latino drag queens took the initiative to host their own pageants in response to the racism prevalent within established drag queen pageant circuits. White judges largely oversaw these established circuits.

While Ballroom initially resembled traditional drag queen pageants, the inclusion of gay men and trans women brought about a transformative evolution in the Ballroom scene, shaping it into what it is today: a diverse array of categories open to all queer individuals. Participants in these categories compete for coveted trophies and cash prizes.

In the world of Ballroom, most individuals are affiliated with "houses," where selected groups of friends come together to form chosen families and communities that offer support and camaraderie distinct from their families of origin, from whom they may have become estranged.

 

For more information check out:

• Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza
• Van Vogue Jam 
• Toronto Kiki Ballroom Alliance 
• Vogue YYC
• Crystal LaBeija: The Queen Who Reinvented Ball Culture | MASTERS OF DRAG | AMERICAN MASTERS | PBS
• Legendary 30 Years of Philly Ballroom